HOUSTON, Texas – The Arkansas Tech baseball team played its second game of Opening Weekend on Saturday morning at Daikin Park in Houston against No. 18-ranked Ashland. The Wonder Boys would end up falling to Ashland, 8-7, in 10 innings.
Playing as the away team, the Wonder Boys were the first to score as they put up a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. The first run was driven in on a single to centerfield off the bat of
Nolan Self. The second run was plated in the very next at-bat as
Grant Jones singled to left field.
Ashland was quick with a response in the bottom of the frame as they hit a leadoff home run. An inning later, the Eagles struck for four runs on three hits to take a 5-2 lead. The big blow was a three-run home run.
Tech was able to get two of those runs back on the strength of a
Jeffrey Cisneros two-run home run out to left field.
Brendyn Bard had previously led off the inning with a single to center ahead of the Cisneros bomb.
After neither team scored in the fifth, the Wonder Boys plated a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. That inning got going on a one-out infield bunt single to third by
Cole Dawson. Self then followed with a single down the right field line to advance Dawson to third. Two batters later, the bases were loaded with two outs and
Tyler Sardelli at the plate. Sardelli would come through with a two-run single to right.
Ashland was able to tie the score at six-all in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly.
Neither team would score in the seventh, eighth or ninth innings, sending the game into extra innings.
With the game now in extra innings, the international tiebreaker was put into effect and the last batter to make an out in the inning prior would be automatically placed at second base to start any subsequent extra inning.
For the Wonder Boys, in the top of the 10
th, that put Dawson on second base. Dawson was quickly driven in on a RBI single by
Christian Olea, giving Tech a 7-6 lead. The next three Wonder Boy hitters would be retired, sending the game to the bottom of the 10
th.
Two batters into the bottom of the inning, Ashland was threatening with bases loaded and no outs. The tying run was then forced in on a walk and moments later, the winning run was driven in on a single to center.
The Wonder Boys will now prepare to conclude their time in downtown Houston as part of the Houston Winter Invitational on Sunday afternoon against Mississippi College. First-pitch for the game is scheduled for 5 p.m.
